Body of Lies: Movie Review

Body of Lies: Movie Review

Director : Ridley Scott 
Cast : Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong 
Rating : *** 

Based on David Ignatius' 2007 novel, Body of Lies is an espionage spy thriller about officer Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), a CIA covert operative working in Iraq and trying to gather lethal information on Islamic terrorist cells to reach their mastermind Al Saleem (Alon Aboutboul). 

He is backed by his boss in US, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) who exploits Roger's local contacts but finds them disposable. 

After losing such a friend in Iraq, Roger travels to Jordan and heads the US Intelligence department there. He befriends the head of Jordanian Intelligence, Hani Salaam (Mark Strong) and through his help he targets to reach Al Saleem. But this alliance is made fragile through Hoffman's double-dealings and concealed schemes. 

From the opening bombing scene in Manchester to character introduction in Samarra (Iraq) and the plot development in Amman (Jordan), the narrative continually crosses geographical boundaries but never loses your attention for a single moment. 

The story just momentarily shifts base to Washington or Langley but the logistics are widely spread in the Middle East covering countries from Turkey to Syria. 

Master Director Ridley Scott keeps the proceedings wonderfully entertaining, getting neither artistically subtle nor commercially overboard. 

The screenplay runs at breakneck speed and is coupled with ruthless explosions, exhilarating chases, satellite surveillance, smart elements of suspense and some gruesome torture. 

Halfway through the film, Roger comes up with a scheme to devise a fake terrorist group to challenge the terrorist organization of Al Saleem and get him out of his hidings. Though the idea is interesting, it comes in a bit too late in the film, giving way for the formation of an entirely new plot-point rather than building up on the existing one. 

A major cliché that the film resorts to is Roger's romance track with Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani) that is basically employed in the story to humanize Ferris. 

The love story is not much of a hindrance to the central plot but towards the end it maneuvers the motivations of Ferris from his quest for Saleem being reduced merely to the rescue of his sweetheart. Also the film opts for a fashionably filmy ending. 

Scott technically enhances the film through striking camerawork and the extreme close-up shots in action sequences keeps you on the edge-of-the-seat in anticipation that the next bullet will rip the screen. The action appears real and is slickly choreographed. 

Body of Lies does highlight the politics of war between the West and Islam but works more effectively as a thriller drama. 

Through the Crowe-Caprio relationship, the film emphasizes that agents on field have a better picture of the situation than their comfortably stationed superiors in Washington. And that the bureaucrats only give orders that interest their political strategies, regardless of human exploitation. 

Leonardo reigns supreme in the film, bruised and battered in every single frame but conversely exuding tremendous energy in his proceedings and performance. 

Russel Crowe is relegated to being a supporting actor with less screen presence and zero character development. He still adds requisite poise to the casual approach to his character. Mark Strong is impressive as the intelligence head with a cool and composed attitude. 

Body of Lies is truly amazing for Leonardo DiCaprio's exceptional act and Ridley Scott's compelling direction.

1920 - Review

1920 - Review (Green Signal) ****

Vikram Bhatt visits the horror genre again, after Raaz. Also, like Raaz, 1920 talks of love, lust and paranormal forces. But unlike Raaz, 1920 is set in the bygone era and that makes Raaz and 1920 as diverse as chalk and cheese.

After a series of watchable and avoidable fares, Vikram Bhatt is back with a vengeance in his latest endeavour. It may not be the most eerie experience, but it has its share of terrifying moments that one expects from a film that talks of supernatural forces. The best thing about 1920 is that the culmination to the story is most compelling, which is so vital for a horror-mystery.

 Any hiccups? The narrative slows down at regular intervals and that robs the film of its shine. Besides, the flashback -- the reason why the spirit seeks revenge -- could've been more impactful.

All said and done, the pros easily outweigh the cons here. Most importantly, 1920 delivers what it promises: Eerie and scary moments aplenty!

The year is 1920 and the house isolated in the wilderness has a secret. It is waiting for the curse to come true. For years, everyone who has tried to pull it down has died of mysterious circumstances.

Arjun [Rajneesh Duggal] and his wife [Adah Sharma] move into the house. He has been given the task of pulling it down and making a hotel there. The house has been waiting for them. Strange and inexplicable events start taking place...

The period look and the castle [located in Yorkshire in actuality], which is an integral part of the story, give the film a distinctive texture. From the writing point of view [story: Vikram Bhatt; screenplay: Vikram Bhatt, Dhiraj Ratan], the love story is well structured and the obstacles the couple face are well depicted.

But the film actually gallops when the spirit takes over the girl's body. Thereafter, incident after incident catches you unaware. Note the sequence at the nursing home, when the spirit talks to the doctor. Or recall the spirit's warning to the priest. The finale -- when Rajneesh chants Hanuman Chalisa -- is another highpoint.

Without doubt, 1920 is amongst Vikram Bhatt's finest works. In fact, it's after a really long gap that Bhatt seems to be in complete command. Pravin Bhatt's camera captures the mood splendidly. The beauty of the castle has been captured very well by the DOP. Adnan Sami's music strikes a chord. 'Bichua' [singer: Shubha Mudgal; filmed on Rakhi Sawant] caters to the masses, while 'Tujhe Main Pyaar Karu' [Kailash Kher] and 'Vaada' [Pt. Jasraj] are aimed at the heart.

Both Rajneesh Duggal and Adah Sharma go through their roles confidently. Adah gets the meatier part and she takes to it like a fish takes to water. She's excellent! Rajneesh has the trappings of a fine actor and though there's slight awkwardness at places, it can be overcome with the passage of time. He has the potential. Anjori Alagh looks beautiful and leaves an impression in the second hour. Indraneel does well. Raj Zutshi [as the priest] is top notch. Vallabh Vyas [doctor] is as usual.

On the whole, 1920 is an engrossing fare that meets the expectations. It has the potential to work at plexes and single screens, metros and mini-metros, catering to all audiences.

The Last Lear - Review

Rituparno Ghosh, one of the finest storytellers from Bengal, chooses Utpal Dutt's play 'Aajker Shahjahan' as the premise for his new endeavour The Last Lear. The plotline [the story of an aging superstar] as also the execution of the subject is the type that holds appeal for a miniscule section of audience.

The problem with The Last Lear is that there's too much Shakespeare in the movie, which, to put it bluntly, isn't everyone's cup of tea. Besides, certain themes may hold some appeal for those into theatre, but don't work on cinematic level.

Yet, there's no denying that The Last Lear has its share of engrossing moments. A few individualistic sequences are noteworthy as also the portrayal of characters by some prominent names. But that's not enough!

In a nutshell, The Last Lear fails to connect. At best, it may find some patronage at Festivals, but there's nothing for Indian moviegoers.

Harry [Amitabh Bachchan] lives for acting, loves theatre, adores Shakespeare and absolutely detests cinema. Enter Siddharth [Arjun Rampal], a movie director. He is smart, Harry finds out in the very first meeting. He is glad to have found a cerebral partner to have a conversation with.

Slowly, they bond over coffees, vodka and conversations. Harry decides to work in Siddharth's film. New relationships blossom. But an incident changes everything...

Director Rituparno Ghosh's choice of the subject has its limitations. It's good to think different, but The Last Lear is abstract. From the writing point of view, a number of points remain unexplained and even if they are, it's difficult to decipher.

Like, for instance, Shefali Shah's hatred for Preity is unexplainable. Why does Shefali detest Preity? Her problem, in the first place, should've been with the director of the film [Arjun Rampal], not the co-actors. Also, the accident and the aftermath lack clarity. Why does Arjun want a retake? Why does he want Amitabh to perform the death-defying jump all over again? This, when he knows that Amitabh can't see without his glasses. Clearly, the writing has its share of loopholes.

That's not all, for The Last Lear is too verbose, like Rituparno's earlier film Raincoat. It gets very talk-heavy after a point and that's quite off-putting.

Amitabh Bachchan is the life of The Last Lear. But it's definitely not his best performance so far. The actor has delivered stronger performances in the past. He's good, not great. Arjun is evolving into a fine actor. After ROCK ON!!, this is another performance that would fetch Arjun laurels. Preity is very effective. Shefali Shah is superb. Divya Dutta is wasted. Prosenjit is alright. Jishu impresses.

On the whole, The Last Lear has something for the Festival circuit, but nothing for the cinema-going audience in India. At the box-office, it caters to a minuscule section of moviegoers at select metros only. Disappointing!

Harry Puttar

Harry Puttar Review

Kiddie films, aimed at kids between 6 and 60, are slowly making inroads in Bollywood. Hari Puttar - A Comedy Of Terrors is the newest entrant in this family.

Now let's set the record straight. Hari Puttar - A Comedy Of Terrors is not remotely inspired by Hari Potter, but it actually borrows from Home Alone. Unfortunately, directors Rajesh Bajaj and Lucky Kohli make a complete mess of what could've been a great kiddie fare.

Seriously, what were the directors thinking when they okayed this apology of a script? The directors seem completely clueless about how smart today's kids are. And the kind of stuff they have an access to [television, cinema, games]. They've witnessed far better stuff than what's dished out in this misadventure.

Hari Prasad [Zain Khan] or Hari Puttar, as he is fondly called, is a bright 10-year-old who has recently moved from India to U.K. with his parents. His father, Prof. Dhoonda, is assigned to work on a secret project with the Defence Forces at a remote location in U.K. He has access to confidential information that is stored on a chip and safely kept at his house.

Within days of their arrival in London, Hari's aunt [Lilette Dubey] and uncle DK [Jackie Shroff] visit the Dhoonda residence with their own as well DK's boss' children. Suddenly, the house is filled with the effervescence of no less than ten kids.

At this point, everything goes for a spin for Hari Puttar. Not only is he thrown out of his room to accommodate the girls, he is also ragged and ridiculed by all the other kids for being too naÏve. Hari Puttar suddenly feels unwanted, undermined and unappreciated.

The family takes off for a holiday, leaving Hari Puttar and Tuk Tuk [Swini Khara], his cousin, behind, who confront the two goons [Saurabh Shukla, Vijay Raaz] out to rob the chip.

Even if you're inspired by a hugely popular English film, the challenge lies in Indianising it well enough. But Hari Puttar - A Comedy Of Terrors is an amateurish attempt all the way. Here, the goons exchange the choicest of expletives [beeped obviously]. Here, the villain [Mr. Blue Contact Lenses with an Ajit hangover; zero expressions] and his cronies [Saurabh Shukla in a hideous wig and Vijay Raaz in outlandish outfits] are more of buffoons. Here, in a kiddie film, you get to watch a sexy Shamita Shetty gyrating to a promotional track.

The scripting is amateurish and hence, whatever unfolds on screen makes no impact whatsoever. Any redeeming aspect? The penultimate 15 odd minutes when the kids try their best to keep the villains at bay. Also, the animation is quite good.

Zain Khan does a decent job. Swini Khara, seen in Cheeni Kum, gets no scope. Sarika looks disinterested. Also, she looks ill at ease delivering Punjabi lines. Lilette Dubey is miscast. As for Jackie Shroff, the less said the better. It's also sad to see actors like Saurabh Shukla and Vijay Raaz being reduced to such roles. They ham!

On the whole, Hari Puttar - A Comedy Of Terrors is a poor show all the way.

Hello Reviws

Hello Review

Some stories are interesting to read. They may be bestsellers, no arguments on that. But cinema is a different medium altogether and not all stories are cut out for cinematic adaptations. That's the problem with Hello.

Wait, there's one more hiccup. The screenplay, credited to Atul Agnihotri and Chetan Bhagat, lacks the power to hold your attention from start to end, barring a few stray moments in the second hour.

Based on Chetan Bhagat's book 'One Night @ The Call Centre', Hello makes an attempt to peep into the lives of those working at call centres, but things are presented in such an amateurish manner that it fails to cut ice.

 Perhaps director Atul Agnihotri wanted his second directorial venture to be a complete departure from stereotypical movies, but, believe it or not, there's hardly any story to tell in the first hour. Defining character sketches of the principal players should constitute maximum 15 odd minutes of the film. You don't devote your entire first hour to it.

Post interval, there's some movement in the story, but not enough to take the film to a different level. Even the culmination is so filmy. Suddenly, everything seems to be going right for the call centre personnel. It's a screenplay of convenience!

So what's the verdict then? There are good films and there are bad films. Hello is neither good, nor bad. It's just boring!

Hello talks of the events that happen in one night at a call centre. Shyam [Sharman Joshi] is losing his girlfriend because his career is going nowhere as he trudges his way around in a call centre. His girlfriend, Priyanka [Gul Panag], also works at the call centre, but her mother [Bharti Achrekar] wants her married to a wealthy NRI.

More people in the story: An aspiring model, Esha [Isha Koppikar], is hoping for the break that seems to be eluding her... Varun aka Vroom [Sohail Khan] loves Esha, but she's more focused on her career... Radhika [Amrita Arora] is constantly at the receiving end of her mother-in-law. Even her husband [Arbaaz Khan] is having an affair... A beleaguered grandfather, Military Uncle [Sharat Saxena], has been barred from interacting with his grandchild.

These call centre agents see their worlds crumbling around them. And then there's a call from God...

The screenplay tends to get so amateurish at times that you actually want to ask the writers, Hello, do you know the basics of screenplay development? Also, the call centre personnel look more like a bunch of college kids, while the Americans, calling up call centre executives to sort out their problems, come across as nincompoops.

Saddled with a poor screenplay, there's not much that director Atul Agnihotri can do to salvage the show. Sajid-Wajid's music is pleasant. The Salman song at the very outset, 'Bang Bang', and 'Karle Baby Dance Dance' are energetic. Sanjay F. Gupta's cinematography is alright.

Talking of actors, Sharman and Sohail are the pick of the lot. Sharman stands tall even in a tacky script like this, while Sohail is gradually getting into the groove. Amrita, Isha and Gul are okay. Arbaaz Khan is hardly there. Sharat Saxena is wasted. Dalip Tahil is unintentionally funny. Suresh Menon is unbearable.

Salman Khan looks haggard, as if he has been woken up from his sleep. The eye bags and double chin are too evident. Besides, the actor has been given main prominence in posters/billboards, but the fact remains that he's hardly there for a song and scene at the start, a brief scene at the interval and a scene and promotional video at the end. Katrina Kaif looks angelic, but even she has a 5-10 minute role.

On the whole, Hello is a poor show. At the box-office, it has no chances whatsoever!

Kidnap Review

Kidnap Movie Review

Other notes - Firstly, thanks for reading the Drona review. Drona quite often reminded me of Mani Shankar’s painful Rudraksh in 2004 starring Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu and Suniel Shetty. Rudraksh was also a fantasy movie.

Moving on from the Drona nightmare, Kidnap directed by Sanjay Gadhvi releases tomorrow. Imraan Khan could prove to be lucky the second time too. Its a co-incidence that Love Story 2050 another Fantasy / Sci- Fi movie released against Imraan’s Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. And the rest as we all know is history. Hopefully Kidnap which also has Sanjay Dutt and Minissha Lamba turns out to be a much better watch. The review will be up by around 3 PM Indian Standard Time. Be sure to check back in.

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Drona Reviws

On asked what the audience should expect from Drona, Abhishek said “I want them to expect a lot. I never say this, but I want them (the audience) to expect the world. Goldie proved that my expectations weren’t high enough. So I want them to expect a lot more.” Woah, not bad I thought! Yet, not trusting Abhishek as I read something similar from him about Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, I went in with low expectations.

And yet I was heavily disappointed. Disappointed to see Abhishek being part of such a poorly directed low quality movie. Disappointed for the fact that a huge amount of money was wasted on great special effects in a horribly illogical film!

Gustaki Maaf are Kay Kay’s two most favorite words in the movie. Gustaki Maaf Goldie Behl saab, but seriously what were you thinking? Even a 12 year old school kid could have scripted a better superhero story for his school project! Its hard to believe I just saw a movie as bad as Drona. Try figuring this out..
Drona and his bodyguard Sonia are in the middle of a vast desert and out of nowhere, Sonia is pulled into a huge sea! Sea in a desert? Update: Such a location where the Desert meets the sea does exist! Director Goldie Behl says “We got exactly that place it was “Desert meets the Ocean”. After seeing this Abhishek was stunned to see such a fantastic location.”
Which century or era does this movie belong to? We start off with a modern town with all the high funda cars, cut to the next scene we have a palace in a desert that looks dated, back to the early regime of kings!
Drona is warned, open the door, you’ll meet death. He opens and voila out comes a ferocious and filthy looking monster. One punch from our absolutely unfit-for-a-superhero-role Abhishek, down goes the monster!
Jaya Bachchan (Drona’s mother) is mummified, yet tears trickle from her eyes!
If Love Story 2050 had the butterfly which magically assisted Harman Baweja to find a way when in trouble. Drona has a blue flower petal!

Mind you these are just a few of the numerous senseless scenes that Goldie and his Drona team treat us with. Can be forgiven in the name of Fantasy, but then there is hardly a connection between any two scenes.

The characters are poorly written. Kay Kay’s character is more clownish than devilish. The extent of his evil powers and its repercussions if he succeeds is not clear. Same goes with the main character of Drona. His strengths and power are not dealt with in detail which is so very important for a superhero flick. 

For all Goldie Behl had to tell, he could have easily reduced the runtime to about 1 and a half hours instead of its actual 2 hours 15 mins runtime. Would have reduced the cost of making and the viewers pain. Though, thankfully it wasn’t longer.

Coming to the songs, which have no significance in the movie, are unbearable. The only thing that stands out in Drona is the brilliant special effects, which are way ahead of Bollywood standards.

Performances are poor. Abhishek Bachchan is no Hrithik Roshan or Akshay Kumar, although he tries hard in the action sequences, his body language or physique just doesn’t suit the role of a superhero with unprecedented physical power. His excess flab around the tummy area is quite clearly seen in the Drona costume. Priyanka Chopra is at her sexiest best! She oozes sensuality and performs the action scenes remarkably well.

Now the much hyped role of Kay Kay Menon, its such a dud. This has to be one of his worst roles ever. A great actor degraded by a stupid role. Jaya Bachchan has a very small role.

Overall, Drona could easily be placed a notch or two below some of the worst movies I have seen. Also, hardly have I witnessed an audience so restless during a movie. Goldie’s childhood promise to Abhishek could turn out to be his worst nightmare ever! At the box-office, Kidnap as a rival will severely make a dent in Drona’s collections. Weekend should be decent, but Monday onwards the fall could well be inevitable.